Fort Frances is again without a full-time fire chief.
A contract with Interim Fire Chief Dave Robertson is ending, and duties are being temporarily handed over to the town’s Chief Administrative Officer, Marcel Michaels.
Councillor Steve Maki does not want it to be long-term.
“I’d hate to see us start to become complacent and leave that position unfilled and have the CAO in a more permanent acting fire chief position to save that $12,000 a month,” says Maki.
Michaels has agreed to report back to council by August.
It is not the first time a CAO has handled fire chief duties.
Travis Rob, while serving as acting CAO, took on the responsibility following the sudden departure of Tyler Moffitt, which later led to the town signing Robertson to a contract.
When asked about the additional workload, Michaels says it is possible to hand off some of the responsibility to other members of the fire department.
“Assessing it and negotiating what will be delegated to the captain would be a variable that will dictate how long you could go,” says Michaels.
“Obviously during budget season, it might be a little bit more challenging, but I feel we can assess it.”
